HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
<<<<Cuba considers the 49 square-kilometer (20 square-mile) base to be its sovereign territory.>>>> LoL... "Stopping at nothing to spread capitalist nonsense for 2002. Agence France Presse: You can rely on us to keep the masses ignorant" On 4 Jan 02, at 14:39, Barry Stoller wrote: > HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK > --------------------------- > > > AFP. 4 January 2002. Cuba won't object to plans for al-Qaeda detainees > to go to US base. > > HAVANA -- Cuba will not object to US plans to send al-Qaeda detainees to > the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an influential US senator > said Friday after meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro. > > "Had it been an adverse reaction (from Castro), we would have heard it > loud and clear at the minimum; there are no objections," said Republican > Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who along with his Republican > colleague Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island met for six hours with Castro > late Thursday. > > Acknowledging "they could have made life difficult in Guantanamo," the > spot on Cuba's southeast coast where the United States maintains a naval > base against Havana's will, Specter told a press conference that in fact > Castro "expressed interest in being cooperative" in the fight against > terrorism in general. > > "I believe there are areas where Cuba could be of great assistance on > the war on terrorism," Specter said. "Cuba has vast intelligence sources > which could be of great aid." > > As of Thursday, Cuba had not yet taken an official position on US plans > to use its Guantanamo Bay naval base as a site to hold prisoners from > the war in Afghanistan, according to a government statement released > last Sunday. > > Specter is a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations > Subcommittee on Defense, which writes draft legislation allocating > federal funds for defense efforts. > > Chafee, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has led an > effort to enact legislation -- the Bridges to the Cuban People Act -- > that would loosen the US four-decade-old economic embargo on Cuba. > > The two influential Republican lawmakers, invited by the Cuban national > assembly, met with Cuban dissidents after touching down in Havana at > midday Wednesday. > > They are the highest-ranking US lawmakers to visit Cuba since the > September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and subsequent US > military operations against the Taliban militia and al-Qaeda terrorist > network in Afghanistan. > > Their visit was described as private in nature. > > Specter said that in their talks with Castro, the only communist leader > in the Americas, the two senators "talked extensively on the issues of > human rights and the democratic process in Cuba, (and) urged him in > rather blunt and undiplomatic terms to hold elections." > > "When you engage him (Castro) he is not without a response, he is not > without many responses," he added. > > The Pennsylvania senator added that Cuba's statement on Guantanamo, > which said Havana "does not have the information necessary and has > therefore not taken any position. Even though it is national Cuban > territory, (Guantanamo) is the site of a US military installation," > directly reflected Castro's personal view. > > With regard to US sanctions on Cuba, Specter said "the embargo is > evolving in the US Congress. I want to see a fresh evolution." > > Last Sunday's Cuban statement alluded to the ongoing dispute between > Washington and Havana over the Guantanamo installation -- a standoff is > "which has existed for many years and which has yet to be resolved." > > Cuba considers the 49 square-kilometer (20 square-mile) base to be its > sovereign territory. > > Just 850 kilometers (550 miles) from Miami, the US base at Guantanamo is > home to some 500 US troops. The base provides logistical support for US > ships and aircraft that conduct counternarcotics operations in the > Caribbean. > > US President Theodore Roosevelt signed a lease in perpetuity with Cuba > on February 23, 1903 to lease the military post at Guantanamo Bay for > which Washington pays annual rent of 4,085 dollars. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > > Barry Stoller > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews > > ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
